An Examination of General and Specific Motivational Mechanisms Essay

Luc G. Pelletier and Stphanie C. Dions report entitled An Examination of General and precise demandal Mechanisms for the Relations Between Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Behaviors aims to examine the human race of visible structure dissatisfaction with take behaviors through a carry of the contrastive models of mandate of ingest behaviors used by women.The oeuvre main(prenominal)ly uses the Self-Determination opening (SDT) as a framework for examination of socio-cultural pressures and the bring down-ideal as factors for be dissatisfaction and, in turn, automobile trunk dissatisfaction as a author of consumeing-related problems like binge have, dietary restraint, and bulimia. Lastly, the study as well as looks at two assorted levels of motivation to relieve the differences in the responses of women to socio-cultural pressures regarding personify motion picture, which cut to a difference in have patterns. These two ar the normal self-government or a sme ll out of self-determination toward iodines life and self-determination towards have.Negative physical structure orbit and its causes and effects prevail been the subject of many studies during the past decade. Due to its popularity as a topic for research, many of its findings atomic number 18 well-known and accepted by fraternity at present. Among these are the role of media, peers, family, puberty and others in reinforcing the thin ideal, the relationship of womens perceived discrepancies between their dead form ideal and body trope with their satisfaction with their own body and the effect of oppose body images to womens eating enclothes.However, a review of the existing literature about body image reveals many fire and sometimes unexpected findings. The first among these is the main basis of this study, which is self-determination. Deci and Ryans Self-Determination Theory shows that the level of womens ordinary self-determination in life whitethorn serve as a sh ield against the effect of the pressure exerted by parliamentary law for women to be thin. This is interesting because this entrust show how body-image ass be approached as a orbitual issue when joined with the findings on how domineering body image can lead to confidence then to a imperative self-determination.Second, body image may score an effect on many tyrannical qualities much(prenominal)(prenominal) as attractiveness, success and intelligence. This shows attractiveness as much than just a fixed variable. It is not merely affected by the corporeal attributes one is born with, but also by how one feels about these physical attributes. Moreover, it emphasizes the gravity of the consequences that either a positive or negative body image may cause. Its affects can extend onto many non-physical aspects of a psyches life. In fact, another research shows that pressures from fellowship to be thin can variety individual core beliefs as regards the importance of physical a ppearance compared with other values.Another interesting finding is that body dissatisfaction may be addressed by either self-reinforcement or by aiming to change ones appearance. People are more than familiar with the split trice approach, which includes exercising and dieting. However, it is interesting to find that grooming and other plays of self-reinforcement are also used. While these forms of self-reinforcement may have been admitted to be used by concourse to enhance their self-image, it is not easily identifiable to have a organize correlation to body image. Moreover, this type approach shows a more positive and less destructive way of addressing issues on body image. Seven hypotheses were well-tried in the research. They are stated in the article as follows. First, command self-determination will be negatively associated with both socio-cultural pressures about body image and the authorization of societys beliefs about thinness and obesity. Second, socio-cultural pressures should be positively linked to the endorsement of societys beliefs, which, in turn, will positively signal body dissatisfaction. Third, although body dissatisfaction is expected to positively predict both an autonomous and a controlled form of prescript of eating behaviors, it should lead mainly to a controlled pattern of eating.Fourth, the autonomous form of dominion of eating will be positively associated with full-blooded eating behaviors, whereas the controlled form of regulation will be positively associated with nonadaptive eating behaviors. Fifth, general self-determination should be positively associated with the autonomous form of regulation and negatively associated with the controlled form of regulation. Sixth, the autonomous regulation of eating behaviors will be positively associated with sanitary eating behaviors and negatively associated with bulimic symptoms, whereas the controlled regulation of eating behaviors will be positively associated with nona daptive eating and negatively associated with si brisky eating behaviors.Fin everyy, healthy eating behaviors should positively predict psychological adjustment, whereas dysfunctional eating should negatively predict psychological adjustment. These hypotheses aim to test the relationship of general self-determination, body image, body dissatisfaction, forms of regulation of eating behaviors, eating habits and psychological adjustment among apiece other.Methodology The study was done on 447 female students, ages 16 to 54 from two universitiesthe University of Ottawa and the Carleton University. Of these students 78.2% are taking undergraduate degrees from the University of Ottawa, 20% are graduate students from the same university, while the remaining 1.2% are enrolled at Carleton University. The researchers take several musical scales and indexes to test its hypotheses. Enumerated in the study are the General Motivation get over (GMS), Teasing Assessment Scale, Body Dissatisfac tion Subscale (EDI-BD), Regulation of Eating Behaviors Scale (REBS), Healthy Eating Habits Scale, Dysfunctional Eating (BULIT-R), Psychological Adjustment force (PAI), Depressed Mood Scale (CES-D), Self-Esteem Scale (SES) and the Satisfaction with spirit Scale (SWLS).The tests are composed of statements and questions, which the respondents assess using a Likert scale with around five to seven points for rating. The scales are usually divided in several subscales with equal number of items based on the nature of the hypothesis being tested. They have been previously used in other studies and their reliableness and validity have been tested.Results and DiscussionThe study was able to prove all six hypotheses. These hypotheses will be discussed in three classs. These groups are general self-determination and determinants of body dissatisfaction, general self-determination and forms of regulation of eating behaviors and consequences of the forms of regulation of eating behaviors on p sychological adjustment. The last group will be divided into the association of autonomous and controlled eating regulation to healthy and dysfunctional eating habits and the relationship of eating behaviors with psychological adjustment.The first discussion group pertains to the first and second hypotheses. Findings show that general self-determination has a positive association with autonomous regulation of eating behaviors, while it has a negative association with controlled regulation of eating. In relation to this, general self-determination has a negative relation with socio-cultural pressures about body image and the endorsement of societys beliefs about thinness and obesity. On the contrary, socio-cultural pressures about body image and endorsement of societys beliefs about thinness and obesity have a positive association, while the latter is positively associated with body dissatisfaction.The cause for this firmness was explained to be that the more women perceived socio-c ultural pressures about body image, the more they assignd societal beliefs about thinness and obesity, which causes them to have body dissatisfaction. However, general self-determination allows them to be more motivated to act according to their own values, sooner than be pressured socio-cultural messages of thinness. People with general self-determination are more plausibly to measure self-worth based on personal growth, meaningful relationships and other indispensable values, or else than by using extrinsic values such as physical attractiveness.The second discussion group relates to the third and fifth hypotheses. It was found that both autonomous and controlled eating behaviors are good motivational mechanisms and have a positive association to body dissatisfaction. However, the association of controlled regulation, which is = .74 is stronger than autonomous regulations = .14. In addition to this, it was found that general self-determination in life caused them to be self -determined in the regulation of their eating behaviors, which is a special life domain.The third discussion groups relates to the quartern, fifth and sixth hypotheses. As for the fourth and sixth hypotheses, majority of women who are dissatisfied with their body image eat in a restrictive manner due to the motivation to turn off body dissatisfaction caused by internal pressures such as guilt or shame or external pressures such as media and parents about body image and the endorsement of beliefs about thinness and obesity.Controlled regulation has a positive association with dysfunctional eating behaviors and a negative associated with healthy eating behaviors. On the contrary, women with greater self-determination tend to have healthy eating habits because they have less probability of perceiving socio-cultural pressures about body image and internalize societal beliefs about thinness and obesity. Unlike its negative relation with dysfunctional eating behaviors, autonomous regula tion has a positive relation to healthy eating behaviors.Lastly, as regards the last hypothesis, positive psychological adjustment are found have a positive connection with healthy eating behaviors. On the contrary, it has a negative relation with dysfunctional eating behaviors. The results of the study suggest that healthy eating behavior may be a necessary condition for global psychological adjustment.These findings may provide new approaches to understanding and treating body image-related issues and eating disorders. Having built the relationship between body dissatisfaction and eating disorders, specialists may focus on increasing self-esteem rather than emphasizing the evils of unhealthy eating habits. They may also begin face at the motivational perspective introduced in the study and adapt intercession according to what motivates a woman to adopt weight control habits. abridgmentIn summary, the results were interpreted to show that societal pressures and self-determination may be seen as competing factors that determine body dissatisfaction, with societal pressures as the cause for the endorsement of societal beliefs about obesity and thinness, while self-determination as the caramel brown against it. Both body dissatisfaction and self-determination have an effect on the contour of eating regulation a woman may adopt.This may result to either a healthy or dysfunctional eating habit among women. However, the authors offered an alternative explanation for the results. The explanation is actually a reverse of the second hypotheses. According to the authors, body dissatisfaction may have been the cause for women to endorse societys belief, rather than the inverse, because such dissatisfaction may lead women to pay more attention socio-cultural pressures about body image. Several other topics related to this field of force of research may be examined in the future. First, researchers can look at satisfaction or dissatisfaction caused by the body image formed congress to the body type of the person with whom a subject has constant assemble with. Some people may feel less overweight when dictated with obese people than when placed with thin people and vice versa. Second, researchers may delve into more deeply into other nub women address body dissatisfaction such as exercise, and determine what factors cause women to choose a genuine approach.This may also be related to general self-determination such that researchers may examine which between exercising or other means of addressing body dissatisfaction and dieting, or a combination of both, is used by women with different levels of self-determination. Lastly, the present study may also be replicated using different genders, attributes, and means of addressing body dissatisfaction. Very interesting results may arise from the study of gays and lesbians.